Multiple array format

ABSTRACT

A multiple array substrate having multiple assay chambers, each assay chamber containing one or more arrays. The assay chambers include a form-in-place gasket between a substrate and a cover. Methods of forming such multiple array substrates are described. The assay chambers may further be associated with an analysis site for analyzing a sample solution contained within the assay chamber. Each assay chamber is in fluid communication with a port, and the ports are positioned in a spatial format adapted to interface to standard laboratory equipment for handling multiple fluids in parallel.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION DESCRIPTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The invention relates generally to manufacture of biochemicalassays. More specifically, this invention relates to formation offluid-tight seals, and containment structures relating to biologicalassays.

[0003] 2. Background of the Invention

[0004] Biomolecular arrays (such as DNA or RNA arrays) are known and areused, for example, as diagnostic or screening tools. Such arrays includeregions of usually different sequence biomolecules (such aspolynucleotides or polypeptides) arranged in a predeterminedconfiguration on a substrate. These regions (sometimes referenced as“array features”) are positioned at respective locations (“addresses”)on the substrate. Biomolecular arrays typically are fabricated on planarsubstrates either by depositing previously obtained biomolecules ontothe substrate in a site specific fashion or by site specific in situsynthesis of the biomolecules upon the substrate. The arrays, whenexposed to a sample, will undergo a binding reaction with the sample andexhibit an observed binding pattern. This binding pattern can bedetected upon interrogating the array. For example all biomoleculetargets (for example, DNA) in the sample can be labeled with a suitablelabel (such as a fluorescent compound), and the label then can beaccurately observed (such as by observing the fluorescence pattern) onthe array after exposure of the array to the sample. Assuming that thedifferent biomolecule targets were correctly deposited in accordancewith the predetermined configuration, then the observed binding patternwill be indicative of the presence and/or concentration of one or morecomponents of the sample.

[0005] In use, the surface of the array is contacted with a solutioncontaining the sample. The speed and specificity of the binding reactionis dependent on several factors, including composition of the solution(ionic strength, pH, polarity, concentration and identity of thesample), temperature, and speed of mixing of the sample. Samples tend tobe expensive, precious, or limited to very small quantities. Therefore,current methods seek to reduce the amount of sample required by reducingthe amount of sample solution needed to contact the array. One currentmethod accomplishes this by confining the solution under a coverslipplaced on top of the array, creating a thin layer of solution betweenthe array surface and the coverslip. While this technique minimizes thequantity of solution required to contact the array, it eliminates theability to mix or stir the solution while the array is being exposed tothe solution. Mixing is thus limited to diffusion of the samplemolecules within the thin layer of solution between the coverslip andthe array surface. This results in very long incubation time, typically,over night and up to 24 hours. The coverslip method also does not allowone to seal the system (undesirable, because it allows evaporation atthe edges to occur). The coverslip method frequently results inspatially non-uniform binding because of variations in the flatness ofthe glass, the bending of the glass, and the thickness of the thin layerof solution. The coverslip method is also messy and clumsy to use;during the disassembly process, it is easy to scratch the array sincethe glass cover is in close contact to the array substrate.

[0006] As an alternative, some array manufacturers have created packagesfor their arrays. In one type of package, the array substrate is gluedin place and the package has a sealed inlet and outlet for the liquidsample. These packages usually have a relatively large (compared to thecoverslip systems) distance between the array surface and the matingopposite surface used to seal the chamber. This allows the samplesolution to flow across the array when injected into the package. Thepackage usually has to be oriented so that the array surface is verticalto allow the leading air bubble to float to the top and out. The samplevolumes in these packages are much larger than the coverslip method,typically greater than 100 microliters and up to 500 microliters ormore.

[0007] Another technique to create an assay chamber for an array is toplace a gasket between the array surface and a mating opposite surfaceand clamp with an external force. The distance between the two surfacesis typically between 0.5 mm and 1.0 mm. This distance is required toallow the sample solution to flow in the chamber without beingrestricted by capillary forces. An array enclosed in a package having anassay chamber is easier to handle and less likely to be damaged duringuse because the mating surface is kept at a distance from the arraysurface. Mixing of the sample solution across the array surface ispossible in the assay chamber by either pumping the liquid sample backand forth across the array or rotating the package to move the liquidposition within the sealed chamber. The problem with these types ofchambers is the large volume of liquid sample required to fill thevolume between the two surfaces while covering the array area. Largesample volumes are sometimes not possible or require dilution of thesample to fill the volume. Dilution of the sample reduces sensitivity ofthe measurement and may extend the incubation time.

[0008] Ideally, one would like to approach the small volumes of thecoverslip method while allowing for a more protected sealed system. Onesuch system is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,361,486 and 6,309,875 toGordon. This technique uses variable orientation centrifugation to movethe sample in a thin cross section between the array surface and theback plate. This technique uses centrifugation of the assay chamber toovercome capillary forces that deter mixing of the sample solution. Bychanging the orientation of the array during the centrifugation, thesample is moved across the array and allowed to mix during incubation.This system requires a reliable seal between the array surface and theback plate that is sufficiently thin to allow small volumes of sample tocover large areas of the array.

[0009] To form a good seal, typically a compliant material is compressedbetween the two surfaces. It is difficult to find compliant materialthat is sufficiently thin and compatible with the chemistry used forthese biochemical experiments. Normal rubber sheet material is muchthicker than what is required for this application. To reduce the volumeof sample, a gasket thickness of 0.001″ to 0.003″ is required. Sheetmaterials typically become too flimsy or are relatively difficult tomanipulate at such a small scale. One available material is thin sheets(down to 0.002″) of silicone rubber. This material can be cut into thedesired shape and placed on the array surface. A back plate is thencarefully set in place, and pressure is applied to seal the assaychamber. In practice, this works, but the gasket is delicate, difficultto handle, and hard to keep in place while assembling the apparatus.Adhesives can be applied to one side of the silicone sheet. This allowsthe thin sheet of silicone rubber to be applied to the back plate andcut to the desired shape. Unwanted areas of the sheet are then peeledaway. The sheet of silicone rubber can also be die cut to form thegasket before it is applied to the back plate. This is a difficultprocess. The adhesive adds to the thickness of the gasket and has to becompatible with all the chemicals that might be used in the biochemicalassay. The silicone sheet material that forms the gasket must be wideenough (on the order of 1+ millimeters) to provide strength andstructural integrity to survive the process of applying the material tothe plate. Therefore, while creating a chamber on the order of about0.002″ thick is possible using thin silicone sheet material, it isinconvenient and results in relatively wide strips of sheet material onthe surface of the back plate (or, alternatively, the surface of thesubstrate).

[0010] There is thus a need for an array system allowing the use ofrelatively small amounts of sample solution while allowing the samplesolution to be mixed or moved across the surface of the array to speedthe binding reaction. Such an array system needs to have an assaychamber that is fluid tight to allow the sample solution to flow acrossthe surface of the array and to be mixed without leaking.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] The invention is thus addressed to the aforementioneddeficiencies in the art, and provides novel methods for making afluid-tight seal around an array to provide an assay chamber forcontaining the sample solution during the binding reaction.

[0012] More generally, the invention provides a form-in-place gasket ona gasket surface on a substrate as well as a method of making theform-in-place gasket on the gasket surface. The form-in-place gasketcomprises a suitable gasket material that is deposited onto the gasketsurface at the site where the finished gasket is desired, typicallyadjacent to an analysis site, e.g. site of a biochemical assay. Forembodiments in which the desired gasket is relatively thin, the gasketmaterial is selected to be a self-leveling, low viscosity, fluidmaterial that is essentially inert to the conditions under which theanalysis (such as a biochemical assay) is conducted. The method ofmaking the form-in-place gasket includes depositing the gasket materialin a predetermined configuration at the desired site on the gasketsurface, and then curing the gasket material to form the form-in-placegasket. A cover having a mating surface that is complementary to thegasket surface can be disposed against the gasket, forming a fluid tightseal. With the cover in place, the substrate, the cover, and theform-in-place gasket define an assay chamber, typically associated withthe analysis site.

[0013] The invention provides for a multiple array substrate havingform-in-place gaskets defining assay chambers around one or more arrays.Each assay chamber is in fluid communication with a port, and the portsare positioned in a spatial format adapted to interface to standardlaboratory equipment for handling multiple fluids in parallel.Particular embodiments have either eight or twelve assay chambers, eachin fluid communication with a port, the ports linearly positioned on 9mm centers. Other embodiments have either sixteen or twenty-four assaychambers, each in fluid communication with a port, the ports linearlypositioned on 4.5 mm centers. Other embodiments have either thirty-twoor forty-eight assay chambers, each in fluid communication with a port,the ports linearly positioned on 2.25 mm centers. Such a configurationallows for automated handling of processing of arrays, includingcontacting arrays with the solutions to be tested, washing buffers, etc.

[0014] Additional objects, advantages, and novel features of thisinvention shall be set forth in part in the descriptions and examplesthat follow and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the artupon examination of the following specifications or may be learned bythe practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of theinvention may be realized and attained by means of the instruments,combinations, compositions and methods particularly pointed out in theappended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] These and other features of the invention will be understood fromthe description of representative embodiments of the method herein andthe disclosure of illustrative apparatus for carrying out the method,taken together with the Figures, wherein

[0016]FIG. 1 is a flow chart describing a method according to thepresent invention.

[0017]FIG. 2A illustrates a substrate, a form-in-place gasket, and acover; FIG. 2B illustrates form-in-place gasket including structuralfeatures disposed on a substrate surface; FIG. 2C shows a form-in-placegasket forming a vent; FIG. 2D shows structural features including avent, or port.

[0018]FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the profile of a bead ofgasket material on a substrate.

[0019]FIG. 4 shows a multiple array substrate with gaskets aroundindividual arrays.

[0020]FIG. 5 is a drawing of a multiple array substrate formatted tointerface with parallel fluid handling equipment.

[0021]FIG. 6 is a drawing of a multiple array substrate formatted tointerface with parallel fluid handling equipment, wherein the multiplearray substrate provides for assay chambers arranged in a plurality ofranks.

[0022]FIG. 7 is a drawing of a multiple array substrate formatted tointerface with parallel fluid handling equipment, wherein the multiplearray substrate provides for assay chambers arranged in a plurality ofranks.

[0023]FIG. 8 illustrates a form-in-place gasket on a cover forming awell suitable for holding an aliquot of sample fluid, with the arraysubstrate ready to be positioned on the form-in-place gasket.

[0024] To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals havebeen used, where practical, to designate corresponding elements that arecommon to the Figures. Figure components are not drawn to scale.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] Before the invention is described in detail, it is to beunderstood that unless otherwise indicated this invention is not limitedto particular materials, reagents, reaction materials, manufacturingprocesses, or the like, as such may vary. It is also to be understoodthat the terminology used herein is for purposes of describingparticular embodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting. It isalso possible in the present invention that steps may be executed indifferent sequence where this is logically possible. However, thesequence described below is preferred.

[0026] It must be noted that, as used in the specification and theappended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” include pluralreferents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, forexample, reference to “an insoluble support” includes a plurality ofinsoluble supports. In this specification and in the claims that follow,reference will be made to a number of terms that shall be defined tohave the following meanings unless a contrary intention is apparent:

[0027] A form-in-place gasket, as the term is used herein, refers to agasket which is formed on a gasket surface in a process that involvesdepositing a gasket material onto the gasket surface. The term“form-in-place gasket” also encompasses a plurality of discontinuousportions of gasket disposed on a surface, such as when formed bydepositing gasket material on the surface discontinuously and thencuring the gasket material. The gasket surface is the surface upon whichthe gasket is formed (or is intended to be formed). The mating surfaceis the surface that is complementary to the gasket surface and isdisposed against the gasket formed on the gasket surface (or is intendedto be disposed against the gasket formed on the gasket surface). Gasketmaterial references a fluid material having properties that render thefluid material suitable for formation of a gasket. As used below,“gasket” typically references a form-in-place gasket according to thepresent invention, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.“Fluid tight” when used to describe a seal, a chamber, or other featurereferences an ability to resist flow of a fluid past an intendedboundary (typically defined by a gasket), but yet permits fluid flowwithin intended boundaries, such as on one side of a seal, into or outof a chamber via a port, or along the length of a channel. “Mixingfeature” references structures formed on a surface (e.g. by depositinggasket material on the surface) that, due to the geometry or physicalconfiguration of the structure, serves to aid mixing of the contents ofa chamber. In certain embodiments, a “substrate” may include materialsthat are homogenous, heterogenous, or otherwise, and may includeindividual component parts that are combined to produce the substrate.Similarly, in certain embodiments, a “cover” may include materials thatare homogenous, heterogenous, or otherwise, and may include individualcomponent parts that are combined to produce the cover. “Substantiallydefined”, as it relates to a substrate, a cover, and gasket“substantially defining” an assay chamber, means that the chamber neednot be totally enclosed (e.g. the chamber may have one or more ports, ororifices), and/or that other elements (other than the substrate, cover,and gasket) may define a portion (e.g. less than about 20% of thesurface area defining the assay chamber) of the assay chamber or maycontribute (e.g. up to about 20% of the surface area defining the assaychamber) to defining the assay chamber. “Substantially” in othercontexts means generally at least about 80% of the property or statereferred to, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. “Pliable”references a property of a material which is pliant or compressible.“Self-leveling” references a property of a material which tends to havea certain given thickness under a given set of conditions, and inparticular references the property of certain gasket materials to flow,or to “slump”, (after being deposited on a gasket surface but prior tocompletion of curing) to a certain thickness, where the thicknessdepends on properties of the gasket material applied and the conditionsof application, including the conditions used for curing the gasketmaterial and the properties of the surface on which the gasket materialis deposited. “Non-slumping” references a property of a material whichdoes not flow, or which maintains an essentially constant conformation,after being deposited on a gasket surface but prior to completion ofcuring. Of course, non-slumping materials may be manipulated to resultin a changed conformation after being deposited on a gasket surface butprior to completion of curing, e.g. by being squeezed between asubstrate and a cover, and this does not alter their “non-slumping”property. “Uniform thickness” describes gaskets or gasket materialsapplied to a surface such that substantially the entire gasket orapplied gasket material has a given thickness (plus or minus about 20%),wherein the thickness of the gasket measured at various points varies byless than 20% of the given thickness of the gasket.

[0028] As used herein, polynucleotides include single or multiplestranded configurations, where one or more of the strands may or may notbe completely aligned with another. The terms “polynucleotide” and“oligonucleotide” shall be generic to polydeoxynucleotides (containing2-deoxy-D-ribose), to polyribonucleotides (containing D-ribose), to anyother type of polynucleotide which is an N-glycoside of a purine orpyrimidine base, and to other polymers in which the conventionalbackbone has been replaced with a non-naturally occurring or syntheticbackbone or in which one or more of the conventional bases has beenreplaced with a non-naturally occurring or synthetic base.

[0029] A “nucleotide” refers to a sub-unit of a nucleic acid (whetherDNA or RNA or analogue thereof) which includes a phosphate group, asugar group and a nitrogen containing base, as well as analogs of suchsub-units. A “nucleoside” references a nucleic acid subunit including asugar group and a nitrogen containing base. A “nucleoside moiety” refersto a molecule having a sugar group and a nitrogen containing base (as ina nucleoside) as a portion of a larger molecule, such as in apolynucleotide, oligonucleotide, or nucleoside phosphoramidite. A“nucleotide monomer” refers to a molecule which is not incorporated in alarger oligo- or poly-nucleotide chain and which corresponds to a singlenucleotide sub-unit; nucleotide monomers may also have activating orprotecting groups, if such groups are necessary for the intended use ofthe nucleotide monomer. A “polynucleotide intermediate” references amolecule occurring between steps in chemical synthesis of apolynucleotide, where the polynucleotide intermediate is subjected tofurther reactions to get the intended final product, e.g. a phosphiteintermediate which is oxidized to a phosphate in a later step in thesynthesis, or a protected polynucleotide which is then deprotected. An“oligonucleotide” generally refers to a nucleotide multimer of about 2to 100 nucleotides in length, while a “polynucleotide” includes anucleotide multimer having any number of nucleotides. It will beappreciated that, as used herein, the terms “nucleoside” and“nucleotide” will include those moieties which contain not only thenaturally occurring purine and pyrimidine bases, e.g., adenine (A),thymine (T), cytosine (C), guanine (G), or uracil (U), but also modifiedpurine and pyrimidine bases and other heterocyclic bases which have beenmodified (these moieties are sometimes referred to herein, collectively,as “purine and pyrimidine bases and analogs thereof”). Suchmodifications include, e.g., methylated purines or pyrimidines, acylatedpurines or pyrimidines, and the like, or the addition of a protectinggroup such as acetyl, difluoroacetyl, trifluoroacetyl, isobutyryl,benzoyl, or the like. The purine or pyrimidine base may also be ananalog of the foregoing; suitable analogs will be known to those skilledin the art and are described in the pertinent texts and literature.Common analogs include, but are not limited to, 1-methyladenine,2-methyladenine, N6-methyladenine, N6-isopentyladenine,2-methylthio-N6-isopentyladenine, N,N-dimethyladenine, 8-bromoadenine,2-thiocytosine, 3-methylcytosine, 5-methylcytosine, 5-ethylcytosine,4-acetylcytosine, 1-methylguanine, 2-methylguanine, 7-methylguanine,2,2-dimethylguanine, 8-bromoguanine, 8-chloroguanine, 8-aminoguanine,8-methylguanine, 8-thioguanine, 5-fluorouracil, 5-bromouracil,5-chlorouracil, 5-iodouracil, 5-ethyluracil, 5-propyluracil,5-methoxyuracil, 5-hydroxymethyluracil, 5-(carboxyhydroxymethyl)uracil,5-(methylaminomethyl)uracil, 5-(carboxymethylaminomethyl)-uracil,2-thiouracil, 5-methyl-2-thiouracil, 5-(2-bromovinyl)uracil,uracil-5-oxyacetic acid, uracil-5-oxyacetic acid methyl ester,pseudouracil, 1-methylpseudouracil, queosine, inosine, 1-methylinosine,hypoxanthine, xanthine, 2-aminopurine, 6-hydroxyaminopurine,6-thiopurine and 2,6-diaminopurine.

[0030] An “internucleotide bond” refers to a chemical linkage betweentwo nucleoside moieties, such as a phosphodiester linkage in nucleicacids found in nature, or such as linkages well known from the art ofsynthesis of nucleic acids and nucleic acid analogues. Aninternucleotide bond may comprise a phospho or phosphite group, and mayinclude linkages where one or more oxygen atoms of the phospho orphosphite group are either modified with a substituent or replaced withanother atom, e.g. a sulfur atom, or the nitrogen atom of a mono- ordi-alkyl amino group. Such words as “bond,” “bound,” “binds,” or“binding,” may be used to express various modes of chemical binding,including covalent, ionic, hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic bonding, ormixed mode binding (combinations of the above); context may dictate whena specific meaning is permissible or required.

[0031] As used herein, the term “amino acid” is intended to include notonly the L-, D- and nonchiral forms of naturally occurring amino acids(alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamine,glutamic acid, glycine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine,methionine, phenylalanine, proline, serine, threonine, tryptophan,tyrosine, valine), but also modified amino acids, amino acid analogs,and other chemical compounds which can be incorporated in conventionaloligopeptide synthesis, e.g., 4-nitrophenylalanine, isoglutamic acid,isoglutamine, ε-nicotinoyl-lysine, isonipecotic acid,tetrahydroisoquinoleic acid, α-aminoisobutyric acid, sarcosine,citrulline, cysteic acid, t-butylglycine, t-butylalanine, phenylglycine,cyclohexylalanine, β-alanine, 4-aminobutyric acid, and the like. An“oligopeptide” is a molecule containing from 2 to about 100 amino acidsubunits. “Polypeptide” refers to a molecule having any number of aminoacid subunits. “Biomolecule” refers to molecules generally derivablefrom living organisms, or analogues thereof. Biomolecules include, e.g.amino acids, oligopeptides, polypeptides, glycoproteins, nucleotidemonomers, oligonucleotides, polynucleotides, saccharides,polysaccharides, hormones, growth factors, peptidoglycans, or the like.The term “biomolecular fluid” refers to any fluid that comprisesbiological fluids, biomolecules, and/or other biological substances ormaterials. Some examples of biological fluids include blood, plasma,serum, solutions containing proteins or nucleic acids, urine, cerebralspinal fluid, saliva, enzymatic mixtures substances and other relatedsubstances and fluids that are well known in the analytical andbiomedical art.

[0032] The term “analysis site” refers to a location in a device wherethere is any use, singly or in combination, of chemical test reagentsand methods, electrical test circuits and methods, physical testcomponents and methods, optical test components and methods, andbiological test reagents and methods to yield information about ananalyte, e.g. a biomolecular fluid or other substance to be analyzed.Such methods are well known in the art and may be based on teachings of,e.g. Tietz Textbook of Clinical Chemistry, 3d Ed., Sec. V, pp. 776-78(Burtis & Ashwood, Eds., W. B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia, 1999);U.S. Pat. No. 5,997,817 to Chrismore et al. (Dec. 7, 1999); U.S. Pat.No. 5,059,394 to Phillips et al. (Oct. 22, 1991); U.S. Pat. No.5,001,054 to Wagner et al. (Mar. 19, 1991); and U.S. Pat. No. 4,392,933to Nakamura et al. (Jul. 12, 1983), the teachings of which are herebyincorporated by reference, as well as others. Analysis sites may includedetectors that test electrochemical properties of the biomolecular fluid(e.g. conductivity), or they may include optical means for sensingoptical properties of the biomolecular fluid (e.g. chemiluminescence,fluorescence, or dye activation vie enzymatic action), or they mayinclude biochemical reagents (e.g. antibodies, substrates, or enzymes)to sense properties (e.g. presence of antigens, clotting time, or clotlysis) of the biomolecular fluid. The analysis site may comprisebiosensing or reagent material that will react with an analyte (e.g.glucose) in the biomolecular fluid so that information about the analytemay be obtained. An analysis site may include one or more bioarrays or aportion of a bioarray. “Analysis component” references any reagent,circuit, component, detector, means, or the like mentioned in thisparagraph in relation to an analysis site, wherein the analysiscomponent is in operable relation to other elements of the analysissite, and may include biomolecules deposited in a bioarray on asubstrate. An analysis site may be, e.g. disposed adjacent to asubstrate or in operable relation to an array chamber or a portion of anarray chamber, and an analysis component may be in operable relation toa substrate.

[0033] An “array”, unless a contrary intention appears, includes anyone, two or three dimensional arrangement of addressable regions bearinga particular chemical moiety or moieties (for example, polynucleotidesequences) associated with that region. A “bioarray” is an array ofbiomolecules. An array is “addressable” in that it has multiple regionsof different moieties (for example, different polynucleotide sequences)such that a region (a “array feature” or “spot” of the array) at aparticular predetermined location (an “address”) on the array willdetect a particular target or class of targets (although an arrayfeature may incidentally detect non-targets of that array feature). Inthe case of an array, the “target” will be referenced as a moiety in amobile phase (typically fluid), to be detected by probes (“targetprobes”) which are bound to the substrate at the various regions.However, either of the “target” or “target probes” may be the one whichis to be evaluated by the other (thus, either one could be an unknownmixture of polynucleotides to be evaluated by binding with the other).While probes and targets of the present invention will typically besingle-stranded, this is not essential. A “target solution” references amobile phase comprising the target. “Interrogating” the array refers toobtaining information from the array, especially information abouttargets binding to the array. An “array format” refers to one or morecharacteristics of the array, such as array feature position, arrayfeature size, or some indication of a moiety at a given location.“Hybridization assay” references a process of contacting a bioarray witha mobile phase containing target moieties. Further disclosure ofform-in-place gaskets, particularly as related to array formats may befound in three applications co-filed with this application, titled “Formin Place Gaskets for Assays” (Schleifer, docket 10010945), “FluidContainment Structure” (Schleifer, docket 10020753), “ImprovedHybridization Process for Bioarrays” (Schleifer and Ostrowski, docket10020292), each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in itsentirety.

[0034] The present invention provides a method of making a form-in-placegasket. Referring to FIG. 1, the method comprises first depositing asuitable gasket material onto a substrate 10 and then curing the gasketmaterial on the substrate 20 to produce the form-in-place gasket. Thegasket material is applied to the substrate in a predeterminedconfiguration to provide for a form-in-place gasket having a desiredconfiguration. The desired properties of the final form-in-place gasket,for example the spatial conformation of the gasket on the surface of thesubstrate, the desired dimensions and structural features of the gasket,and so on, will dictate the predetermined configuration. The gasketmaterial is applied to the gasket surface so as to result in the finalgasket having the desired configuration, for example to provide desiredstructural features such as conduits, chambers, mixing features, outletsand/or inlets when a cover is placed against the form-in-place gasket onthe substrate.

[0035] A fluid containment structure may be formed that includes asubstrate that has a gasket surface with a form-in-place gasket disposedon the gasket surface. In the fluid containment structure, theform-in-place gasket is disposed around and marks the perimeter of aninterior area on the substrate. The interior area and the form-in-placegasket define a well that is adapted for retaining a fluid. The shape ofthe interior area may be altered depending on the desired use byaltering the configuration of the form-in-place gasket. The fluidcontainment structure may be associated with or form a portion of ananalysis site where a sample fluid retained in the fluid containmentstructure may be analyzed. The analysis site typically includes at leastone analysis component (e.g. an array of immobilized oligonucleotides)necessary for performing, e.g. a biochemical assay, such as a bindingreaction between an immobilized oligonucleotide and a complementaryoligonucleotide in the sample solution.

[0036] The gasket material may be deposited on a gasket surface in avariety of predetermined configurations, including a bead of gasketmaterial deposited around the perimeter of a substrate to provide for afluid-tight seal when a cover is placed on the gasket. The desiredconfiguration may include, for example, a simple bead of gasket materialsurrounding the perimeter of an assay chamber, as well as more complexstructures. Referring now to FIG. 2, FIG. 2A shows a substrate 30 havinga gasket surface 32 with a form-in-place gasket 34 formed thereupon. Thegasket surface 32 is that part of the substrate surface 36 on which thegasket material is deposited. The form-in-place gasket 34 comprises asimple bead of cured gasket material around the perimeter of an interiorarea 38 of the substrate surface 36 defined by the form-in-place gasket34. A cover 40 having a mating surface 42 is adapted to be positioned inclose proximity to the substrate 30, as indicated by arrows 44. Themating surface 42 is that part of the cover 40 which lies adjacent theform-in-place gasket 34 when the cover 40 is disposed adjacent thesubstrate 30. The mating surface 42 is complementary to the gasketsurface 32 and is preferably smooth where it contacts the form-in-placegasket 34. The cover 40 is adapted to provide a tight seal by pressingthe form-in-place gasket 34 between the gasket surface 32 and the matingsurface 42. The gasket surface and the mating surface are eachpreferably planar, but in other embodiments may deviate from planar,e.g. portions of the gasket surface and mating surface may turn downwardor upward (i.e. in the direction of the arrows 44 or in the reversedirection), so long as the gasket surface and mating surface arecomplementary, or substantially parallel (meaning substantiallyequidistant from each other along their length) when the cover is inplace on the substrate, so that a tight seal may be formed. With thecover in place (in close proximity (“adjacent”) to the substrate), thesubstrate, the cover, and the form-in-place gasket define an assaychamber. In the absence of the cover, substrate 30 and form-in-placegasket 34 provide a fluid containment structure, as illustrated in FIG.2A.

[0037] The substrates shown in FIGS. 2A-2D are planar, but in alternateembodiments the substrate may have more complex structure, e.g.including one or more of recessed structures, elevated structures,channels, orifices, guides. For example, the interior area 38 of thesubstrate surface 36 defined by the form-in-place gasket 34 may have arecess in fluid communication with a channel formed in the interior area38 of the substrate surface 36, the channel leading through an orificeto an external fluid supply source, allowing, e.g. rinsing of theinterior surface during use, with a separate orifice serving as a drain.Such orifices may variously be referred to as ports, inlets, outlets,drains, vents, or such similar terms.

[0038]FIGS. 2B, 2C, and 2D provide a few examples of how theform-in-place gasket 34 may have a variety of structural features. FIG.2B illustrates a form-in-place gasket 34 on a substrate 30 where theform-in-place gasket 34 has internal structural features 46. Thesestructural features 46 may serve functions such as enhancing mixing offluids, partitioning fluids in separate reservoir chambers until neededfor mixing or rinsing, or other desired functions that may be apparentto the skilled practitioner given the disclosure herein. FIG. 2Cillustrates a form-in-place gasket 34 with more internal structuralfeatures 46, this time including an internal vent 48 that provides forenhanced fluid flow during use of the illustrated device. FIG. 2Dillustrates a form-in-place gasket 34 with a different structuralfeature 50 that may function as an external vent or as a port to supplyor remove fluid from the chamber. Some embodiments may provide for portsthrough the substrate 30 or through the cover 40 to supply or removefluid from the chamber. In each of the embodiments illustrated in FIGS.2B-2D, a cover 40 may be disposed adjacent the substrate 30 with thegasket between the substrate and cover to form an assay chamber.

[0039] The gasket material may deposited on the substrate inpredetermined configurations which include structural features, such as,for example, gaps, protrusions, vents, channels, mazes, serpentinechannels, bumps, sample inlets, and/or sample outlets. These structuralfeatures can be used to enhance performance of the system, such as bydirecting fluid flow, partitioning fluids, or enhancing mixing offluids. Additional devices, such as chemically derivatized beads andfilters, can be glued in place and sealed as part of the gasketstructure. Interior areas on the substrate surface defined byform-in-place gasket may also serve as wells for retaining fluid (fluidcontainment structures). Multiple areas may be defined on a singlesubstrate (see FIG. 4), allowing different samples to be applied to andanalyzed on a single substrate, thus potentially reducing cost,increasing throughput, or increasing the number of different analyteswhich can be tested on a single substrate. It can be seen from thefigures that the gasket material may be deposited on the substrate toform continuous structures (those that may be deposited without haltingand restarting the application of the gasket material), like shown inFIG. 2A, or discontinuous structures (those that require halting theapplication of the gasket material and restarting application at adifferent point on the substrate surface), like those shown in the otherfigures. In some embodiments, other fluid handling features such as, forexample, gaps, protrusions, vents, channels, mazes, serpentine channels,bumps, ports, sample inlets, and/or sample outlets may be present on thesubstrate or otherwise associated with the assay chamber.

[0040] The gasket material is selected to provide a form-in-place gaskethaving suitable thickness and flexibility to enable a fluid tight sealwhere needed for the desired configuration. In one embodiment, thegasket material is cured on the substrate in the absence of a cover,with a cover optionally being placed on the gasket after curing of thegasket material. An alternate embodiment provides that the cover is putin place before curing of the gasket material, thus providing aform-in-place gasket where the gasket is formed between the substrateand the cover. In one embodiment, the gasket material is selected sothat, when it is cured prior to positioning the cover over the assaysite, the cover may be removed from contact with the gasket withoutsignificant damage to the form-in-place gasket, allowing the cover (or adifferent cover) to be re-positioned over the assay site to form a seal(i.e. the gasket is re-usable). In an alternate embodiment, the cover isput in place prior to the curing of the gasket material, and then thegasket material is allowed to cure with the cover in place. This type ofseal typically leads to damage of the gasket upon removal of the cover;in this case the seal may be formed only once (i.e. gasket may not bere-used, or the seal may not be re-formed after breaking, or the sealnot intended to be broke in normal use of the device). This type of sealmay be termed a “non-releasable” seal, or a “permanent seal”, meaningthat the seal is not adapted to being broken and then reformed.

[0041] Any material having suitable characteristics may be used as agasket material. Gasket materials are generally fluid materials that canbe cured to provide a gasket having suitable characteristics. Selectionof a gasket material is determined relative to the intended application.Suitable gasket materials include, e.g. silicone sealants, urethanes,and polysulfides. Still other suitable gasket materials are, e.g. latex,and acrylic sealants. In all types of gaskets cured on a substrate inthe absence of a cover, a low durometer material is used to allow for acompression seal. Silicone sealant materials are available in manyformulations that are suitable for use in the process of makingform-in-place gaskets according to the current invention. For very thingaskets, with dimensions from about 20 to about 100 micrometers thick, aself-leveling, low viscosity, fluid material should be selected. Thickergaskets can use a wider range of materials including higher viscositymaterial to non-slumping or paste materials. For the relatively thingaskets, a suitable formulation should provide for a silicone gasketthat remains highly flexible and durable after curing. By using a lowviscosity (about 15,000 to about 50,000 cps, or centipoises) siliconethat is “self leveling”, a very small bead of silicone can be applied toa gasket surface. Being self-leveling, the small bead of silicone willspread out to a thin profile, or cross section. In some embodiments, thesilicone will have a viscosity in the range of about 20,000 to about40,000 cps, or even in the range of about 25,000 to about 35,000 cps. Inother embodiments, the viscosity may be in the range of about 50,000 toabout 80,000 cps. Other embodiments may use a gasket material that isnon-slumping. In certain embodiments of the invention, the preferredgasket material is a silicone sealant material such as RTV 118 availablefrom FE Silicones (Charlotte, N.C.), RTV 734 or 3-1753 (both availablefrom Dow Corning (Midland, Mich.)). An example of a paste siliconeadhesive that is a thermal cure silicone is GE 6124. Gasket materialsmay also be selected based on their hardening properties—a gasketmaterial that forms a soft, rounded profile gasket that is compressiblemay be desirable for forming fluid-tight seals where tolerances betweensubstrate and cover may vary; however, a less soft, less compressiblegasket may be desired for other applications.

[0042] The gasket material may be applied to the gasket surface by anysuitable method, e.g. silk screen, brush, spray, or transfer process.For example, to apply a pattern of the gasket material using a padtransfer process, a negative relief of the pattern is generated so thatthe desired thickness of the adhesive is the depth of the relief in themold. The mold is then covered with the gasket material and pressed intothe mold, and the excess is scraped off. A flexible pad is then pressedonto the relief area and the gasket material is transferred from themold to the surface of the pad. The pad is then moved into the desiredposition for the gasket. As the pad contacts the surface (e.g. thesubstrate surface), again the gasket material is transferred from thepad onto the surface. A company that manufactures and distributes padprinting technologies is Printex, A Division Of Pemco Industries, Inc.(Poway, Calif.).

[0043] In one embodiment, the method of applying the gasket material tothe gasket surface uses a dispensing system designed for adhesivesealants. The dispensing system has an x-y-z positioning system and isprogrammable to allow the application of a thin bead of silicone ontothe gasket surface in the desired configuration. A suitable system isthe Automove 403 and is available from Asymtek (Carlsbad, Calif.). Theuse of such a dispensing system is described below in the examples.

[0044] The gasket surface in certain embodiments should be relativelysmooth. In an alternate embodiment, the gasket surface is etched,chemically treated, or scarified to provide greater adhesion of thegasket material. After the gasket material is deposited in thepredetermined configuration at the desired site, the gasket material isallowed to cure to form the form-in-place gasket. Various methods ofcuring depend on the properties of the materials. One part adhesiveshave the advantage of only needing to dispense, transfer, paint or sprayone material and do not require any mixing of two or more materialsprior to use or after in place. One part adhesives are cured dependingproperties of the material. For one part adhesives, curing can be doneby moisture cure, such as moisture cure RTV silicone where moisture inthe air reacts with the silicone. Typical cure times for these RTVsilicones are from 1 to several days. In some embodiments the gasketmaterial may be exposed to heat to cause or to speed up the curingprocess. Heat cure gasket material, such as heat cure silicone, arecured by a process of heating the material well above room temperaturefor a described time, typically 1 to 2 hours. There are also UV cureadhesives where the material is exposed to UV light. This are typicallyfast curing times in as little as 1 minute. Multiple part adhesives arealso available where a curing agent is mixed into the material beforeapplication, mixed during the dispensing, or sprayed on before or afterapplication. The curing agent is typically a catalyst to the curingprocess. The disadvantage of multipart adhesives is that one has tohandle more than one material and if premixed, a working time isassociated with the material. A cover having a mating surface that iscomplementary to the gasket surface can be placed over the substrate,forming a fluid tight seal between the substrate and the cover.

[0045] The physical dimensions of the form-in-place gasket may becharacterized in terms of thickness, width, and length. Thickness isdefined as the perpendicular distance from the gasket surface to mostdistal surface of the applied gasket, when the cover is not in place.When the cover is in place, the thickness is the perpendicular distancebetween the gasket surface and the mating surface of the cover at thelocation of the form-in-place gasket. ‘Thin’ refers to the thickness ofan item, such as a gasket, and a ‘thin cross section’ references a crosssection that is of limited thickness. The width of the gasket is definedas the distance from one side of the gasket material through the gasketmaterial to the opposing side of the gasket material, proceeding on aline parallel to the gasket surface but perpendicular to gasket's longaxis at the particular point where the length is being measured.‘Narrow’ refers to the width of an item, and a ‘narrow cross section’references a cross section that is of limited width. The length is thedistance traced around the perimeter of the area, space, or chamberenclosed by the gasket. The length is typically much larger than thethickness or width. The gasket's long axis at any point is defined bythe direction in which length is measured at that point. The crosssection of the gasket refers to the area (or shape) of that portion of aplane through which the gasket passes, the plane being perpendicular tothe long axis of the gasket (the axis along which length is determined).FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a cross section of a form-in-placegasket 34 formed on a substrate 30 with a cover ready to be put intoplace on the form-in-place gasket 34 (move in the direction of thearrows 52). FIG. 3 also schematically illustrates the meaning ofthickness (denoted by arrows 54) and width (denoted by arrows 56). Thelength of a form-in-place gasket is dictated by the structure of thesubstrate, the cover, and of the area, space, or chamber defined by thegasket, substrate, and cover. The thickness of a gasket is generallydictated by the choice of gasket material and method and/or conditionsof application of the gasket material (including amount of pressureapplied, if any, to squeeze the substrate and cover together). The widthof the gasket material may also be dictated by the choice of gasketmaterial and the method and/or conditions of application of the gasketmaterial (including whether the cover is applied before curing of thegasket material). The thickness and width of the gasket may be widelyvaried and may be selected based on the desired characteristics of thedevice being made.

[0046] Using the methods described herein, the thickness of the gasketsare typically at least about 10 micrometers, more typically at leastabout 15 micrometers, preferably at least about 20 micrometers, and thethickness may range up to about 25 micrometers in some embodiments, upto about 50 micrometers in other embodiments, and up to about 100micrometers, or even about 250 micrometers in still other embodiments.In larger scale devices (such as where assay chambers larger than about2 milliliters are contemplated) the thickness may be up to about 250micrometers in certain embodiments, up to about 500 micrometers in someembodiments, up to about 1000 micrometers or even up to about 2500micrometers in yet other embodiments. Using the methods describedherein, the width of the gasket is at least about 100 micrometers,typically at least about 150 micrometers, more typically at least about200 micrometers, at least about 250 micrometers in some embodiments,more preferably at least about 300 micrometers in certain embodiments,and the width may range up to about 250 micrometers in otherembodiments, or up to about 400 micrometers, or even up to about 500micrometers in other embodiments, or up to about 700 micrometers, oreven up to about 1000 micrometers in particular embodiments. In largerscale devices (such as where assay chambers larger than about 2milliliters are contemplated) the width may range up to about 1.5millimeters, typically up to about 3 millimeters, more typically up toabout 6 millimeters.

[0047] The thickness and/or width may be influenced by thecharacteristics of the gasket material (e.g. viscosity) and theconditions under which it is applied and/or cured, including whether acover is in place (pressed with the mating surface against the gasketmaterial) during curing and how much pressure is applied to the cover.The choice of gasket material will thus influence the physicaldimensions of the gasket, and the desired physical dimensions of thegasket will influence the choice of gasket material. A range of gasketthickness may be obtained by varying the process suitably, for exampleby varying the choice of gasket material or the method used to apply thegasket material to the substrate.

[0048] Other embodiments may use a gasket material, e.g. either aself-leveling or a non-slumping gasket material, to form a fluidcontainment structure, e.g. a well, on a substrate by depositing thegasket material onto a substrate in a configuration in which the gasketmaterial is at the perimeter of an interior area of the substrate(defining the interior area), the gasket material and interior areaproviding a well that may be used as to confine a fluid to the interiorarea. In a particular embodiment, an analysis component is in operablerelation to the fluid containment well, such that in use, while thefluid containment well operates to confine the sample fluid, theanalysis component is used in the analysis of the sample fluid. In oneembodiment, the present invention provides a method for making aform-in-place gasket on a gasket surface on a substrate so that theform-in-place gasket is adjacent to a biochemical assay site. In thisembodiment, the method comprises making the form-in-place gasket havinga desired configuration by depositing a suitable gasket material in apredetermined configuration onto the gasket surface at a site adjacent abiochemical assay site, and then curing the gasket material to providethe finished form-in-place gasket having the desired configuration. Thegasket material is selected to provide a finished gasket that isflexible, inert to the conditions under which the biochemical assay isconducted, and having a very thin cross section. In this regard,“biochemical assay site” references an analysis site at which abiochemical assay is intended to occur. A biochemical assay is an assaythat is intended to analyze an analyte containing a biomolecule or whichuses a biomolecule to analyze an analyte, such as a hybridization assayusing a bioarray to analyze a sample fluid. The biochemical assay sitegenerally includes at least one analysis component, e.g. a biochemicalreagent, or is adapted to receive at least one analysis component. Thebiochemical assay site may optionally include a sensor for enablingsensing of results of the biochemical assay. In one embodiment, themethod comprises making the form-in-place gasket having a desiredconfiguration by depositing a suitable gasket material in apredetermined configuration onto the gasket surface at a site which,upon further assembly, will be adjacent a biochemical assay site, andthen curing the gasket material to provide the finished form-in-placegasket having the desired configuration.

[0049] The invention provides for an assay chamber associated with orincluding a biochemical assay site. The assay chamber includes asubstrate that has a gasket surface with a form-in-place gasket on thegasket surface. The assay chamber also includes a cover having a matingsurface that is complementary to the gasket surface and that can beplaced adjacent the substrate to form a fluid-tight assay chamber. Toform an assay chamber, the gasket surface should be adapted to fit themating surface of the cover. In certain embodiments the assay chamberfurther includes at least one analysis component (e.g. an array ofimmobilized oligonucleotides) necessary for performing a biochemicalassay, such as, e.g. a binding reaction between an immobilizedoligonucleotide and a complementary oligonucleotide in the samplesolution. In one embodiment, the biochemical assay chamber is formed bya process where the gasket material is first cured to form theform-in-place gasket, and then a cover is placed adjacent the substratewith the form-in-place gasket disposed between the cover and thesubstrate. In another embodiment, the cover is first placed on thegasket material, and then the gasket material is cured. The assaychamber may have an alternate configuration that provides for thebiochemical assay; for example, the gasket surface may be on the cover,with the form-in-place gasket formed on the cover rather than on thesubstrate—in such case the complementary surface is on the substrate.Assay chambers according to the current invention may hold any volume offluid that the assay chambers may be designed to hold. In someembodiments the volume of the assay chamber may be at least about 0.1microliter, or at least about 1 microliter, or at least about 10microliters, or at least about 100 microliters, depending on the desireddesign of the assay chamber. In some embodiments the volume of the assaychamber may up to about 100 microliters, or up to about 1 milliliter, orup to about 10 milliliters. In designs for handling larger amounts offluid, the volume of the assay chamber may be up to about at 101 itersor more, depending on the desired design of the assay chamber.

[0050] It is commonly known that some analytes cause absorption of lightof certain wavelengths, and some analytes produce changes influorescence of a detector molecule. Thus, it is contemplated that bothlight absorption and fluorescence can be used for sensing the presenceand concentration of certain analytes. As used herein, the term “lightinteraction” refers to light absorption, fluorescence, phosphorescence,luminescence, and the like, occurring at an analysis site. In someembodiments, analysis of an analyte in the assay chamber uses a lightdetector associated with the assay chamber to measure the lightinteraction. It is to be understood that other types of lightinteraction may be monitored (as with a detector) to determine thepresence and concentration of analytes in view of the presentdisclosure.

[0051] In embodiments including arrays in the assay chambers, well knowart provides teaching for manufacture and use of the arrays, and it iswithin ordinary skill to use and to adapt this art to provide arrays onsubstrates such as are used herein in connection with the invention.Such art includes U.S. Pat. No. 6,242,266 to Fisher, U.S. Pat. No.6,232,072 to Schleifer et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,180,351 to Cattell, U.S.Pat. No. 6,171,797 to Perbost, U.S. Pat. No. 6,323,043 to Caren et al.,U.S. Pat. No. 5,599,695 to Pease et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,753,788 toFodor et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,329,143 to Stryer et al., U.S. Pat. No.6,371,370 to Sadler et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,721,435 to Troll, U.S. Pat.No. 5,763,870 to Sadler et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 6,403,957 to Fodor etal. In certain embodiments, the analysis site may be adapted for usewith commercially available optical scanning systems, examples of whichare described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,837,475, 5,760,951 (confocal scanner)and U.S. Pat. No. 5,585,639 (off axis scanner), all incorporated hereinby reference. Typical scanning fluorometers are commercially availablefrom different sources, such as Molecular Dynamics of Sunnyvale, Calif.,General Scanning of Watertown, Mass., Hewlett Packard of Palo Alto,Calif. and Hitachi USA of So. San Francisco, Calif. Analysis of thedata, (i.e., collection, reconstruction of image, comparison andinterpretation of data) is performed with associated computer systemsand commercially available software, such as IMAGEQUANT™ by MolecularDynamics or GENECHIP™ by Affymetrix of Santa Clara, Calif. Typically, alaser beam or other light source is used to illuminate the analysissite, which excites fluorescent labels used in the assay. Thefluorescence signal is detected by a detector and processed by acomputer to determine information about the analyte, such asconcentration, identity, and/or binding affinity.

[0052] In varying embodiments, different arrangements wherein the arrayis interrogated without removing the array from the chamber may easilybe envisioned, for example the cover is made of transparent glass orplastic and the array reader is adapted to interrogating the arraythrough the transparent glass or plastic cover. In such an embodimentthe chamber may include an inlet port and an outlet port, to allowintroduction and removal of, e.g., target solution (the analyte),rinsing solution, or other reagents.

[0053]FIG. 4 depicts an embodiment with multiple fluid containmentstructures and multiple biochemical assay sites. In certain embodimentsthe biochemical assay sites comprise an array 60, for example abioarray, that is to be used in a biochemical assay. It should beunderstood that the biochemical assay (such as, in an embodiment, abioarray) may be manufactured directly onto the substrate surface 36 ormay be manufactured on an alternate material that is then immobilized onthe substrate, for example in a well or a depression in the substratesurface. The invention will be herein described as it relates to arrays60 on the substrate 30, but it should be apparent that any suitablebiochemical assay may be substituted in place of the array 60 by one ofskill in the art given the disclosure herein. A skilled practitionerwill be able to adapt methods of manufacturing bioarrays that are knownin the art to provide one or more bioarrays on the substrate. Such knownmethods are described in U.S. patents and other references cited herein.

[0054] Referring now to FIG. 4, the invention as described herein may bepracticed in an embodiment wherein one or more arrays 60 (e.g.bioarrays) are disposed on the substrate surface 36 of a singlesubstrate 30. The substrate surface 36 further has a plurality ofform-in-place gaskets 34 disposed thereon, each form-in-place gasket 34encircling one or more arrays 60. One or more covers (not shown) may bedisposed closely adjacent the substrate and contacting the form-in-placegaskets 34 to form a fluid tight seal around each array 60. In someembodiments, ports (e.g. inlet and/or outlet) may be present, forexample in the cover, allowing fluidic assess to the assay chamberdefined by the substrate surface, the cover, and the form-in-placegasket. In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 4, the arrays 60 produced ona given substrate 30 need not be identical and some or all could bedifferent from the other arrays 60 present on the given substrate 30.

[0055] In one embodiment, about 2 to 100 of such bioarrays can befabricated on a single substrate (such as glass). In such embodiment,after the substrate has the biomolecules on its surface, the substratemay be cut into substrate segments, each of which may carry one or twoor more bioarrays. In such cases gasket material may be deposited inpredetermined configurations onto the substrate before and/or after thesubstrate is cut into substrate segments. The narrow gaskets that formaround the individual areas of a multiple array substrate would beeasier to form a seal that a traditional single gasket with multipleopenings. Where a pattern of bioarrays is desired, any of a variety ofgeometries may be constructed, including for example, organized rows andcolumns of bioarrays (for example, a grid of bioarrays, across thesubstrate surface), a series of curvilinear rows across the substratesurface (for example, a series of concentric circles or semi-circles ofbioarrays), and the like. One or more analysis components may beassociated with each bioarray. The gasket material may, in oneembodiment, make a closed loop around each bioarray as shown in FIG. 4.In other embodiments, the predetermined configuration for applying thegasket material may leave one or more gaps (ports, or inlets andoutlets) as in FIG. 5.

[0056] In some embodiments the invention provides multiple arrays on asingle substrate, wherein multiple assay chambers are formed asdescribed herein by one or more covers disposed over the singlesubstrate, wherein a form-in-place gasket is disposed between thecover(s) and substrate. An exemplary embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 5showing a multiple array substrate with form-in-place gaskets 34. Asubstrate 30 with a substrate surface 36 has a plurality of individualarrays 60 disposed thereon. The substrate 30 also has form-in-placegaskets 34 disposed alongside the individual arrays 60 extending from aninlet site 62 to an outlet site 64, as shown in FIG. 5. In someembodiments the form-in-place gasket may be formed onto one or morecovers adapted to being disposed on the substrate. In certainembodiments both the substrate and the cover will have form-in-placegaskets. When a cover (not shown) is placed in position on the substrate30, a series of parallel assay chambers is formed, each assay chamberdefined by the substrate, the cover, and the form-in-place gaskets. Eachassay chamber will include one or more arrays, depending on the design.Each assay chamber has an inlet defined by the cover, form-in-placegasket 34, and substrate 30 at inlet site 62. Similarly, each assaychamber has an outlet defined by the cover, form-in-place gasket 34, andsubstrate 30 at outlet site 64. Fluid may be introduced into the assaychamber via the inlet, and the outlet serves to vent the assay chamberand/or provide a way for the fluid to leave the assay chamber. It willbe appreciated that further liquid handling structures may be included,using the deposited gasket material or other well known manufacturingtechniques to include e.g. fluid reservoirs, flow conduits, vents,mixing structures, and the like. It will also be appreciated thatsimilar arrangements of elements are within the intended scope of theinvention, e.g. a substrate supporting multiple arrays disposed thereonmay be mated against a cover having a form-in-place gasket to formmultiple assay chambers.

[0057] The embodiment shown has arrays 60, inlets, and outletsequidistantly disposed across the substrate, that is, they are spaced atuniform intervals. Assay chambers are provided by a cover disposedadjacent the substrate with the form-in-place gasket between thesubstrate and the cover, and the assay chambers are spaced at uniformintervals. As indicated in FIG. 5 (at the arrows 68), the arrays aredisposed on 4.5 mm centers, which is compatible with the form factor ofmicroassay plates that have a 16×24 array of wells (e.g. 384 wellmicrotiter plates) and also compatible with fluid handling equipment(e.g. an automated fluid dispensing system) designed to be used withsuch microassay plates. The multiple array substrate may be fabricatedin other configurations, for example, with the arrays disposed on 9 mmor 2.25 mm centers on the substrate, in which case the multiple arraysubstrate would be compatible with the form factor of microassay platesthat have a 8×12 array of wells (e.g. 96 well microtiter plates) or a32×48 array of wells (e.g. 1536 well microtiter plates), respectively,and also compatible with fluid handling equipment (e.g. automated fluidhandling equipment) designed to be used with such microassay plates. Insome embodiments, the multiple array substrates may include more arrayson a substrate, e.g. from about 8 or 12 arrays per substrate or evenfrom about 16 or 24 arrays per substrate or even from about 32 or 48arrays per substrate, up to about 96 arrays per substrate, or even up toabout 384 arrays per substrate, or even up to about 1536 arrays persubstrate, or even more. In some embodiments, the substrates may bestacked such that the backside of a first substrate may serve as thecover for a second substrate, with a form in place gasket formed oneither the backside of the first substrate or the surface of the secondsubstrate. Stacking multiple substrates in such a fashion would providea multiple array unit having many individual assay chambers, each withone or more arrays. A similar unit would be formed by alternatelystacking multiple array substrates with covers. The multiple arraysubstrates described thus may be used to perform multiple arrayhybridization assays in a large scale parallel format, greatlyincreasing throughput as compared to individual (or small multiple, i.e.less than about 3 arrays per substrate) array substrates.

[0058] Still other embodiments are illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7. In FIG.6, form-in-place gaskets 34 are disposed on a substrate 30 in aconfiguration providing for a plurality of assay chambers arranged inranks 72, 74, wherein the assay chambers in a given rank areequidistantly disposed (spaced at uniform intervals). Note that thearrays 60 on the substrate 30 are equidistantly disposed at a differentuniform interval (arrows 76) than the uniform interval (arrows 78) ofthe inlets and outlets, due to the arrangement into ranks 72, 74. InFIG. 7, the form-in-place gaskets 34 are disposed on a substrate 30 in aconfiguration providing for a plurality of assay chambers arranged inranks 72, 74, wherein the assay chambers are arranged “in series”between the ranks such that an assay chamber in the first rank is influid communication with an assay chamber in the second rank. In anembodiment having assay chambers in series, the sample fluid may bepumped into the first assay chamber, then more fluid may be introduced,pushing the sample fluid into the second assay chamber, then the fluidmay be withdrawn from the first chamber (reverse flow) such that thesample fluid is transferred from the second chamber back into the firstchamber. This may be repeated several times to provide mixing of thesample fluid and improved contact between the sample and any analysiscomponent (e.g. an array) associated with the first assay chamber.

[0059] To form the array, the biomolecule is typically applied to asurface, e.g. the surface of the substrate, by spotting, using pipettes,pins, inkjets, or the like. Methods of depositing materials onto aplanar surface are known, including loading and then touching or tappinga pin or capillary to the surface (U.S. Pat. No. 5,807,522 to Brown etal.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,110,426 to Shalon, et al.); employing an array ofpins or capillaries to transfer an array of droplets to a surface(Lehrach, et al., “Hybrididization Fingerprinting in Genome Mapping andSequencing,” in Genome Analysis, Vol. 1, pp. 39-81 (1990, Davies andTilgham, Eds., Cold Spring Harbor Press)). Ink jet technology may beused to spot biomolecules and other reagents on a surface, for example,using a pulse jet such as an inkjet type head to deposit a droplet ofreagent solution for each feature. See, for example, PCT publications WO89/10977, WO 95/25116 and WO 98/41531, and elsewhere. Still othermethods and apparatus for fabrication of polynucleotide arrays aredescribed in, e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 6,242,266 to Schleiffer et al., whichdescribes a fluid dispensing head for dispensing droplets onto asurface, and methods of positioning the head in relation to the surface.Other methods include those disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 6,180,351 toCattell; U.S. Pat. No. 6,171,797 to Perbost; Gamble, et al., WO97/44134;Gamble, et al., WO98/10858; Baldeschwieler, et al., WO95/25116; and thelike. Other methods can also be used to deposit biomolecules on thesurface including those employing photolithographic techniques forforming arrays of moieties, such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos.5,807,522; 5,143,854; 5,405,783; and 5,744,305. A number of other knownmethods are available and may be used for depositing the biomolecules ona surface. Modifications of these known methods within the capabilitiesof a skilled practitioner in the art as well as other methods known tothose of skill in the art may be employed.

[0060] In one embodiment, the bioarray has array features comprisingoligopeptides deposited on the surface of the substrate. In otherembodiments, other biomolecules, such as polypeptides, oligonucleotides,polynucleotides, or known analogues or derivatives of any of theforegoing, or combinations of any of the foregoing, are deposited on thesubstrate. Any given array feature can have the same or a differentbiomolecule or combination of biomolecules compared to any other givenarray feature. Biomolecules may be derived from natural sources (e.g.isolated from cellular material) or may be synthetic. Examples ofbiomolecules include antigenic epitopes, fragments of antibodies orother proteins, polysacharrides, cDNAs, and RNAs.

[0061] The biomolecules may bind directly to the substrate surface ormay bind via an intermediate moiety upon the surface, e.g. abifunctional linker molecule or other surface treatment. Polynucleotidesmay be bound to the surface by irradiating with UV light, during whichthe polynucleotides covalently attach to the surface, typically via anintermediate moiety, presumably, by non-specific, free-radicalcross-linking. Chemical methods for covalently binding biomolecules inan array format to substrate surfaces are known in the art and may beemployed by one of ordinary skill in the art.

[0062] In bioarray fabrication, the quantities of biomolecule availableare usually very small and expensive. Additionally, sample quantitiesavailable for testing are usually also very small and it is thereforedesirable to simultaneously test the same sample against a large numberof different probes on a bioarray. Therefore, one embodiment of theinvention provides for fabrication of bioarrays with large numbers ofvery small, closely spaced array features. Arrays may be fabricated witharray features that may have diameters (assuming a round spot) in therange from a minimum of about 10 micrometers to a maximum of about 1.0cm. In embodiments where very small spot sizes or array feature sizesare desired, material can be deposited in small spots whose width is inthe range about 1.0 micrometer to 1.0 mm, usually about 5.0 micrometersto 0.5 mm, and more usually about 10 micrometers to 200 micrometers.Interfeature areas will typically (but not essentially) be present whichdo not carry any biomolecule. It will be appreciated though, that theinterfeature areas could be of various sizes and shapes.

[0063] A bioarray may contain any number of array features, generallyincluding at least tens of array features, usually at least hundreds,more usually thousands, and as many as a hundred thousand or more arrayfeatures. All of the array features may be different, or some or allcould be the same. Each array feature carries a predeterminedbiomolecule or a predetermined mixture of biomolecules, such as aparticular polynucleotide sequence or a predetermined mixture ofpolynucleotides. The array features may be arranged in any desiredpattern, e.g. organized rows and columns of array features (for example,a grid of features across the substrate surface), a series ofcurvilinear rows across the substrate surface (for example, a series ofconcentric circles or semi-circles of features), and the like. Inembodiments where very small array feature sizes are desired, thedensity of features on the substrate may range from at least about tenarray features per square centimeter, or preferably at least about 35array features per square centimeter, or more preferably at least about100 array features per square centimeter, and up to about 1000 arrayfeatures per square centimeter, or preferably up to about 10,000 arrayfeatures per square centimeter, or perhaps up to 100,000 array featuresper square centimeter.

[0064] The substrate and the cover may take any of a variety ofconformations ranging from simple to complex. Thus, the substrate couldhave generally planar form, as for example a slide or a plate, such as arectangular- or square- or disc-shape. In many embodiments, thesubstrate will be shaped generally as a rectangular solid, having alength in the range about 4 mm to 400 mm, usually about 4 mm to 150 mm,more usually about 4 mm to 125 mm; a width in the range about 4 mm to400 mm, usually about 4 mm to 120 mm and more usually about 4 mm to 80mm; and a thickness in the range about 0.01 mm to 5.0 mm, usually fromabout 0.1 mm to 2 mm and more usually from about 0.2 to 1 mm. In otherembodiments the substrate may have larger dimensions. The substratesurface may be smooth or substantially planar, or have irregularities,such as depressions or elevations. The shape of the substrate may beselected according to manufacturing, handling, and use considerations.The cover will be shaped to provide a mating surface that iscomplementary to the gasket surface of the substrate such that the covercan be positioned against the form-in-place gasket to form a fluid tightseal. The cover may be smooth or substantially planar, or haveirregularities, such as depressions or elevations.

[0065] The process of the current invention may be employed on anysubstrate having a surface to which the gasket material may bind.Preferred substrate materials provide physical support for the gasketmaterial and endure the conditions of the deposition process and of anysubsequent treatment or handling or processing that may be encounteredin the use of the substrate. Suitable substrates may have a variety offorms and compositions and may derive from naturally occurringmaterials, naturally occurring materials that have been syntheticallymodified, or synthetic materials. Examples of suitable substratematerials include, but are not limited to, nitrocellulose, glasses,silicas, teflons, metals (for example, gold, platinum, and the like),and ceramics (including aluminum oxide and the like), composites, andlaminates thereof. Suitable substrate materials also include polymericmaterials, including polysaccharides such as agarose (e.g., thatavailable commercially as Sepharose®, from Pharmacia) and dextran (e.g.,those available commercially under the tradenames Sephadex® andSephacyl®, also from Pharmacia), polyacrylamides, polystyrenes,polyvinyl alcohols, copolymers of hydroxyethyl methacrylate and methylmethacrylate, polyesters, including poly(ethylene terephthalate) andpoly(butylene terephthalate); polyamides, (such as nylons); polyethers,including polyformaldehyde and poly(phenylene sulfide); polyimides, suchas that manufactured under the trademarks KAPTON (DuPont, Wilmington,Del.) and UPILEX (Ube Industries, Ltd., Japan); polyolefin compounds,including ABS polymers, Kel-F copolymers, poly(methyl methacrylate),poly(styrene-butadiene) copolymers, poly(tetrafluoroethylene),poly(ethylenevinyl acetate) copolymers, poly(N-vinylcarbazole),polytetrafluoroethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polycarbonate, andblends thereof, and the like. Certain polymeric materials that may beused for substrate materials include organic polymers that are eitherhomopolymers or copolymers, naturally occurring or synthetic,crosslinked or uncrosslinked. The cover may be formed from the sametypes of materials as given herein for the substrate.

[0066] The devices of the invention may also be fabricated from a“composite,” i.e., a composition comprised of unlike materials. Thecomposite may be a block composite, e.g., an A-B-A block composite, anA-B-C block composite, or the like. Alternatively, the composite may bea heterogeneous combination of materials, i.e., in which the materialsare distinct from separate phases, or a homogeneous combination ofunlike materials. As used herein, the term “composite” is used toinclude a “laminate” composite. A “laminate” refers to a compositematerial formed from several different bonded layers of identical ordifferent materials. Other preferred composite substrates includepolymer laminates, polymer-metal laminates, e.g., polymer coated withcopper, a ceramic-in-metal or a polymer-in-metal composite.

[0067] The substrate surface may optionally exhibit surfacemodifications over a portion or over all of the surface with one or moredifferent layers of compounds that serve to modify the properties of thesurface in a desirable manner. Such modifications include: inorganic andorganic layers such as metals, metal oxides, conformal silica or glasscoatings, polymers, small organic molecules, hetero-bifunctional linkingmolecules, and the like. Polymeric layers of interest include layers of:polypeptides, proteins, polynucleotides or mimetics thereof, e.g.peptide nucleic acids and the like; polysaccharides, phospholipids,polyurethanes, polyesters, polycarbonates, polyureas, polyamides,polyethyleneamines, polyarylene sulfides, polysiloxanes, polyimides,polyacetates, and the like, where the polymers may be hetero- orhomopolymeric, and may or may not have separate functional moietiesattached thereto, e.g. conjugated.

[0068] Components of the assay chambers (e.g. covers, substrates, etc.)according to the present invention can be fabricated using anyconvenient method, including, but not limited to, molding and castingtechniques, embossing methods, surface machining techniques, bulkmachining techniques, and stamping methods. Further, injection moldingtechniques well known in the art may be useful in shaping the materialsused to produce components according to the instant invention.

[0069] Typical use of the system is given in the examples which follow,which illustrate various embodiments according to the present inventionbut should not be construed to limit the invention as claimed.

EXAMPLES

[0070] The practice of the present invention will employ, unlessotherwise indicated, conventional techniques of device manufacture,material molding and shaping, applying coatings, synthetic organicchemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology, and the like, which arewithin the skill of the art. Such techniques are explained fully in theliterature.

[0071] The following examples are put forth so as to provide those ofordinary skill in the art with a complete disclosure and description ofhow to perform the methods and use the compositions disclosed andclaimed herein. Efforts have been made to ensure accuracy with respectto numbers (e.g., amounts, temperature, etc.) but some errors anddeviations should be accounted for. Unless indicated otherwise, partsare parts by weight, temperature is in ° C. and pressure is at or nearatmospheric. Standard temperature and pressure are defined as 20° C. and1 atmosphere.

[0072] Forming the Form-in-Place Gasket

[0073] An example of a process of making a form-in-place gasket using acontrolled dispensing system, in this example an adhesive dispensingmachine, is now described. The dispensing system has a computercontrolled positioning system to control the position and feed rate of adispensing tip. The computer may be programmed to control delivery ofgasket material from the dispensing tip. A suitable system is theAutomove 403 and is available from Asymtek (Carlsbad, Calif.). The typeof gasket, whether thin or thick, and the shape or profile, willdetermine the types of gasket material appropriate for the application.For thin gaskets, one would select a low viscosity, self-levelingmaterial. One would select a small diameter orifice dispense tip, in the25 to 29 gauge range; a small diameter dispense tip keeps the amount ofmaterial dispensed and the diameter of the bead small. When using smalldiameter tips, the dispense rate is also low requiring a slow velocityof the dispense tip. Experimenting has shown that dispense tipvelocities of more than about 0.01 inches per second and less than about10 inches per second are suitable for the thin gaskets, though thedispense tip velocity may extend higher or lower in certain embodiments.For the thin gaskets, it is desirable to tightly control the paralleltravel of the dispense tip with respect to the substrate surface wherethe gasket will be placed as well as the height of the dispense tipabove the surface. Since the typical distance of the tip above thesurface is between 0.002 and 0.005 inches, changes in the height due tounparallel travel of the tip is significant. For thicker gaskets,adjustments would be made, including one or more of, e.g. a largerdiameter dispense tip, a non-slumping gasket material, altering theangle and height of the dispense tip relative to the gasket surface,etc. The amount of gasket material dispensed and the rate at which thegasket material is dispensed affect the uniformity of the gasket height(thickness). The simplest dispense system is the pressure regulatedsyringe. The feed rate is determined by the diameter of the dispensetip, its length, viscosity of gasket material and the pressure appliedto the reservoir. The gasket material is transferred from its containerto a syringe barrel. The dispense tip end is capped closed and thesyringe is centrifuged to eliminate air pockets in the column of gasketmaterial in the syringe. Air gaps in the gasket material inside thesyringe cause problems during dispensing. First, if an air gap reachesthe dispense tip, this disrupts the flow of gasket material and causesdefects in the gasket as it is forming. Second, air gaps arecompressible and they will cause a change in flow rate (also called feedrate) of the gasket material. After the centrifugation, a plunger isplaced in the syringe barrel and pushed until it contacts the gasketmaterial. The cap at the dispense end of the syringe is removed and adispense tip is attached. The syringe is placed on the dispense systemand attached to the pressure source. The pressure regulator is set tothe proper dispense pressure for the application. Pressure is applied tothe syringe to prime the dispense tip. The pressure is kept on until asteady stream of gasket material is being dispensed. One could collectthe gasket for a set time and weigh it to check the feed rate. Thepressure is adjusted for proper feed rate. In most cases, the dispensesyringe and tip are disposable and as a result are usually at adifferent height and position with respect to the dispense system. Usingthe calibration tools, the tip position is measured and adjusted.

[0074] Each type of gasket, shape, height and part has a differentprogram on the computer controlled dispensing system. The proper programis loaded from the computer to the operating software. The substrate isheld in place so as to have a reference position on the dispense system.In addition, the dispense system can reference to the substrate using anoptical measurement system such as a camera to adjust for parts thatvary slightly. A convenient hold down mechanism is vacuum fixture. Whilethe vacuum is off, the substrate is placed in position on the fixture.The vacuum is turned on and then held in place. After the substrate isin place and secure, a test run is performed. After the test run, thesubstrate is evaluated for correctness. This is usually a visualinspection to ensure a complete gasket and that the shape and profileare correct within limits determined by the application. One or moretest runs can be performed for this evaluation. If corrections areneeded, one or more of the parameters are adjusted. Usually, if thecalibration is done correctly for the dispense tip position and the feedrate of the gasket material is within proper range, no furtheradjustments are required. The process is now ready to start producinglarge numbers of gaskets. To ensure consistent gaskets, monitoring forgasket shape and height is required. The feed rate can also be monitoredafter a set number of parts have been fabricated to check for changes.Again, adjustments can be made for any changes.

[0075] Preparing Sample for Array Hybridization:

[0076] The form-in-place gasket can be used with any kind of reactionthat can be adapted to use chambers such as those described herein.Oligonucleotide arrays and protein arrays are specific applications inwhich a chamber includes or encloses a “probe”, otherwise known as acapture agent, attached to a surface, such as glass. The form-in-placegasket can be on the array glass or on the cover that creates the otherhalf of the chamber. In this example, illustrated in FIG. 8, a cover 40has a gasket surface 32 with a form-in-place gasket 34 formed on thegasket surface. The cover 40 with the form-in-place gasket 34 forms ashallow well that can hold an aliquot of fluid, e.g. of the targetsample. The cover 40 is adapted to having the array substrate 30 placedover the cover 40 (following arrows 70), thus forming an assay chamberin which the array 60 may be contacted the fluid in the assay chamber.The thickness of the form-in-place gasket can be varied depending onsystem and experimental design. The layout, size and thickness of theform-in-place gasket depends on the volume of sample desired and theparticular application.

[0077] Specifically, an 8500 feature array with single strandedoligonucleotide probes was used. Conditions for hybridization assays arewell known in the literature and can be adapted by one of ordinary skillin the art to meet the design considerations of the particular assayused. In this example, the following components were placed in a 1.5 mLnuclease-free microcentrifuge tube: 1.25 μg cyanine 3-labeled linearlyamplified cRNA, 1.25 μg cyanine 5-labeled linearly amplified cRNA, and25 μL 10× Control Targets. Control targets are complementary targetsthat are spiked (added) at a known concentration; the probes for thecontrol targets are usually on the border of the array—these spots helpthe analysis software find the borders. Then, nuclease-free water wasadded to make a volume of 125 μL. Then, 2× hybridization buffer (150 mMLiMES (pH 6.1), 612 mM LiCl; 1.0% octylphenol ethylene oxide condensate(tradename Triton X-100®), 1.5% lithium lauryl sulfate, 6 mM EDTA) wasadded to bring the volume to 250 μL. This is what was used as the targetsample. The target sample was vortexed briefly to mix it, and then thesample was spun down in a microcentrifuge. It will be appreciated thatother volumes of target sample can be used as well, and that suchvariations in system and experimental design lie within ordinary skill.

[0078] Loading the Sample Onto a Form in Place Gasket and Hybridizing:

[0079] In order to load the biological sample, the cover with theform-in-place gasket was placed on the work bench. The target sample wasplaced, either by pipetting or by some other means, into the well formedby the gasket on the cover. The array substrate was placed over thecover with the active (array) side down, so that the array wouldinteract with the target sample (as indicated by the arrows 70 in FIG.8). The assembly was clamped together so that it was secure in theassembly clamp. The assay chamber assembly (array substrate plusgasket/cover plus target sample) was placed on the rotator rack in thehybridization oven (oven with rotating rack mechanism is from RobbinsScientific, Sunnyvale, Calif.), at 60° C. Each assay chamber assemblywas clamped on its side and was rotated end-over-end on the rotator rackto achieve mixing/stirring of the target sample in the assay chamber.The hybridization rotator rack was set to rotate at about 4 rpm. Otherassay chamber assemblies were similarly prepared and placed in therotator rack. The hybridization was conducted at 60° C. for 17 hours. Inaccordance with the invention, the conventional hybridization solutionsand processes for hybridization can be used, such as those described inSambrook et al., Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, Cold SpringHarbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, Ed. 2nd, 1989, vol. 1-3,incorporated herein by reference. Conditions for hybridization typicallyinclude (1) high ionic strength solution, (2) at a controlledtemperature, and (3) in the presence of carrier DNA and detergents anddivalent cation chelators, all of which are well known in the art.Increased stringency is achieved by elevating the temperature,increasing the ratio of co-solvents, lowering the salt concentration,and the like.

[0080] The form-in-place gasket can also be used at most temperatures upto the highest specified temperature of the gasket material. The gasketalso holds a seal in a centrifugal field, and may be used with a rotatorwhich acts as a centrifuge to impart a centrifugal force to enhancemixing in the assay chamber. Different rotating speeds can be used. Incertain embodiments, no rotation may be needed or used. This exampledescribes loading the sample manually (via pipetting), but the assaychamber incorporating the form-in-place gasket is also amenable toautomation.

[0081] Disassembly, Washing, Drying and Scanning the Array:

[0082] Before the incubation was finished, three staining dishes wereprepared. Each held about 250 mL of solution. Wash Solution 1 (6×SSC,0.005% Triton X-102) at 60° C. and a slide rack were placed in the firststaining dish. Wash Solution 1 (at room temperature, enough to cover aslide rack) and a magnetic stir bar were added to the second dish. Thethird dish was placed into a container filled with ice (a Pyrex loaf panis well-suited to this purpose). A magnetic stir bar and enough WashSolution 2 (0.1×SSC, 0.005% Triton X-102) at 4° C. to cover a slide rackwere placed into the third staining dish. The ice in the outer containerwas replenished as needed to keep the solution as cold as possible. Asingle assay chamber assembly was removed from the oven and inspected todetermine if bubbles formed during hybridization, and if all bubbleswere rotating freely. The cover, with the gasket, and the arraysubstrate were removed from the assembly clamp but kept together, makingsure the fluid did not leak out.

[0083] The two slides were placed in the slide rack in the firststaining dish, which is filled with 60° C. Wash Solution 1. The assaychambers were disassembled by separating the slides while they wereimmersed in solution. A thin object slid between the slide and coveraided in separating the two pieces of glass. Disassembly of the chamberwhile immersed provides an advantage of quickly diluting the samplefluid, resulting in lower background signal. The cover (with the gasket)was removed from the slide rack and put aside. These steps were repeatedfor all remaining assay chamber assemblies. The slide rack with thearrays was quickly transferred to the second staining dish (WashSolution 1 at room temperature) and set over a magnetic stir plate tostir at medium speed. The slides were washed for 10 minutes at roomtemperature. The slide rack was then transferred to the third stainingdish, which is on ice. The dish was placed on a magnetic stirring plateset to medium speed. The slides were washed for 5 minutes at 0 to 4° C.Then the slide rack was removed from dish and placed directly into acentrifuge to dry the slides at 1000 RPM for 3 minutes. The slides wereloaded into a scanner, and fluorescence intensities were measured. Anyeffective method of array interrogation may be used, including variousmethods known to those of skill in the art. After scanning, slides werestored in polypropylene slide boxes without cork or foam inserts, in avacuum desiccator or a nitrogen purge box, in the dark.

[0084] The above example describes the process of using theform-in-place gasket in forming an assay chamber for arrayhybridization. It replaces two prior different prior hybridizationtechnologies—the “large volume hybridization method” and the “coverslip”method. The large volume hybridization method required assembling achamber that consisted of a molded plastic backing part with holes thatsepta fit into. The arrays were placed into a stainless steel holderthen the plastic backing was placed on top. A rubber, square, O-ring wasfit on top of the plastic backing to give it some compliance. Then thetop of the stainless steel chamber was placed on the O-ring. The twostainless steel assembly parts were secured together with 6 screws.These screws had to be tightened down with a screwdriver. Then the twosepta per array were inserted into the holes in the plastic moldedbacking part. After assembly of the assay chamber, the sample still hadto be inserted into the assay chamber, where it would contact the array.This was done by placing a syringe needle into one septum to vent thechamber while the syringe needle with the sample was placed into theother septum and the sample was injected.

[0085] The other prior method of array hybridization used the“coverslip.” In this method the scientist placed the array on the workbench, pipettes the sample onto the array and then places a coverslip ontop. This method is highly error prone, since the coverslip can movearound easily because it just “floats” over the sample solution. Theresults from coverslip hybridizations were also very unrepeatable sincecoverslips bent easily and bowed. This non-uniformity caused differentparts of the array to have different signals because of the varyingheight of the sample above each part of the array. Also, during therelatively warm temperatures used for the hybridization experiments, thesample solution would evaporate from around the edge of the coverslip,adding to the non-repeatability of the results.

[0086] The form-in-place gasket as described herein removes the need fornon-compliant molded parts, syringes, septa and the use of the screwdriver. It also eliminates problems associated with the coverslipmethod.

[0087] Multiple Array Format:

[0088] The invention also provides for the use of form-in-place gasketfabrication to construct a multiple array substrate wherein arrays on asingle substrate are separated by form-in-place gaskets resulting in one(or more) arrays per assay chamber (also called “assay channel”, in thisexample). A series of arrays are prepared using a standard 1×3 inchmicroscope slide as the array substrate. The arrays are disposed on thearray substrate on 4.5 mm centers. Multiple assay channels areconstructed by applying beads of silicone gasket material from one edgeof the slide to the other along the short dimension of the arraysubstrate. The layout of such a slide is as shown in FIG. 5. After thesilicone gasket material is applied to the array substrate, anotherglass slide (the cover) is placed on top, and the silicone is allowed tocure. Assay chambers (“assay channels”) are thus formed in the spacebetween the array substrate and the cover and between the beads ofsilicone. Depending on the choice of silicone gasket material, thethickness of the gasket (“height” of the assay chamber) may range fromabout 25 micrometers to about 200 micrometers. Given this range, thevolume for the above type of assay chamber is about 2 to about 15microliters. Other volumes are possible by varying the design, as shouldbe apparent.

[0089] Sample integrity is maintained by an air gap channel (feature 66in FIG. 5) between each assay chamber. If sample leaks around the inlet,the outlet, or past a gasket forming the assay chamber, it is drawn intothe adjacent air gap channel. If the sample is not completely drawn intothe capillary (assay channel) and excess remains at the opening, anyexcess wider than the opening is drawn into the adjacent air gapchannel.

[0090] The multiple array substrate with the cover in place forms amulti-channel microarray. An additional feature can be added: at theopenings (the inlets and outlets, or ports) on the edge between the twoglass slides—another bead of silicone can be dispensed to form a gasket.This additional gasket is oriented on a plane that is not coincidentwith the substrate and can define further liquid handling structures,e.g. an interface port. The additional gasket disposed on the edge ofthe multi-channel microarray (the interface port) can then be used as amake and break seal (a reusable seal) for operations such as sampleintroduction, mixing, and washing. Such operations would be conducted atone or more “stations”, or fluid handling devices adapted to interfacewith the multi-channel microarrays. Such stations may be constructed bythose of skill in the art given the description herein of multi-channelmicroarrays. By having the gasket on the disposable multi-channelmicroarrays instead of the station, cross contamination betweenexperiments will be minimized.

[0091] Filling the Chamber With Sample:

[0092] In one example, the assay chamber, formed with the silicone beadsbetween the array substrate and the cover, is approximately 50 micronsin height. This assay chamber is essentially a capillary, and the liquidsample will be drawn into the capillary. Several techniques can beemployed to apply the sample to the opening (the inlet) on the end ofthe sandwiched slides. First, is a manual technique. Sample is aspiratedinto a disposable pipette, then the tip is place at the opening and thesample slowly dispensed as the capillary is filled.

[0093] Second, a flexible bottom microtiter plate can present a drop tothe opening of the capillary (the inlet) and the sample will be drawninto the channel. A multi-channel pipette can perform this operation inparallel. The automation of the operations is possible if the channelsare at a standard microtiter plate spacing. That would be 9 mm for a 96well plate, 4.5 mm for a 384 well plate, and 2.25 mm for a 1536 wellplate. Other possibilities include pumping the sample into the capillaryor sucking the sample into the capillary by a vacuum applied to theopposite side (the outlet).

[0094] Hybridization:

[0095] After the sample in a hybridization buffer has been drawn intothe channel, a standard hybridization can be performed. Themulti-channel microarray can be placed in a humid chamber at theappropriate temperature. Evaporation is controlled by the humidenvironment. This is similar to the cover slip hybridization procedureused now.

[0096] Mixing:

[0097] The sample can be mixed on the array during hybridization byalternating pressure and vacuum on the opening of the capillary pumpingthe liquid back and forth across the array. Flow channels and/or mixingchambers and or mixing structures may advantageously be incorporatedinto the design of the device.

[0098] Washing:

[0099] Washing may be accomplished by exchanging thesample/hybridization solution with wash buffer. This can be automatedwith the multi-channel microarray by mating the openings with a washstation and having the wash solution either pumped into or drawn intothe channel. The temperature of the wash solution can also becontrolled. In manual procedures, many array substrates are placed inthe same wash buffer. This can cause cross contamination. By having eachchannel perform the wash operation independently, cross contamination isminimized/eliminated.

[0100] Drying:

[0101] After washing, the wash buffer must be removed from the array anddried. This can also be automated by mating the openings with a dryingstation and either pressurizing the chamber with N₂ or by vacuum on theoutlet side.

[0102] Automation of Entire Process:

[0103] Because the channels are at the spacing of a standard micro titerplate, automation of a complete microtiter plate's worth (or even manyplates' worth) of samples is possible. For example, a rack ofmulti-channel microarrays can be set up for analysis of one or moremicrotiter plates containing samples. For each microtiter plate (e.g. a96 well plate), there could be, e.g. twelve multi-channel microarrayswith eight channels per substrate that would match the spacing of thesamples in the corresponding plate. The automated machinery would pickup a substrate, apply samples from a row in the microtiter plate, andcontinue with the hybridization process.

[0104] By providing spacing of the channels that is compatible withmicrotiter plates, the multiple array format allows automation forsample preparation prior to hybridization. All of the sample prepincluding isolation, amplification, labeling can be done in microtiterplates and then interfaced with the multiple array format forhybridization and washing.

[0105] As described in this example, the processes and devices accordingthe present invention may provide one or more of the advantagesdescribed herein, including the following: existing array manufacturingprocesses may be easily adapted for use with form-in-place gaskettechniques; multiple array formats are easily provided (as compared tocurrent approaches only using one or two arrays per substrate or largersubstrates cut into smaller pieces with one array per piece); easyconversion to automation of sample introduction, hybridization, andwashing; interfacing with standard microtiter plate automationequipment; scales to batch automation from a single substrate to largescale at microtiter plate increments (e.g 8, 12, 16, 24, 96, 384, 1536).

[0106] The invention thus also provides for an assay chamber. The assaychamber includes a substrate that has a gasket surface with aform-in-place gasket on the gasket surface. The assay chamber alsoincludes a cover having a mating surface that is complementary to thegasket surface and that can be placed adjacent the substrate with themating surface against the form-in-place gasket to form a fluid tightseal. Essentially similar alternate configurations are possible, e.g. inwhich the gasket surface is on the cover and the mating surface is onthe substrate. The assay chamber typically includes at least oneanalysis component (e.g. an array of immobilized oligonucleotides)necessary for performing, e.g. a biochemical assay, such as a bindingreaction between an immobilized oligonucleotide and a complementaryoligonucleotide in the sample solution.

[0107] The invention thus also provides for a fluid containmentstructure. The fluid containment structure includes a substrate that hasa gasket surface with a form-in-place gasket on the gasket surface. Theform-in-place gasket is disposed around and marks the perimeter of aninterior area on the substrate. The interior area and the form-in-placegasket define a well that is adapted for retaining a fluid. The shape ofthe interior area may be altered depending on the desired use byaltering the configuration of the form-in-place gasket. The fluidcontainment structure may be associated with or form a portion of ananalysis site where a sample fluid retained in the fluid containmentstructure may be analyzed. The analysis site typically includes at leastone analysis component (e.g. an array of immobilized oligonucleotides)necessary for performing, e.g. a biochemical assay, such as a bindingreaction between an immobilized oligonucleotide and a complementaryoligonucleotide in the sample solution.

[0108] The invention provides a method of performing a hybridizationassay using an assay chamber that includes a form-in-place gasket. Inone embodiment the method includes mating a cover against acomplementary surface on a substrate, wherein the substrate has an arraysurface on which biomolecules are deposited in an array format. Aform-in-place gasket is present on the cover, and when the cover ismated against the complementary surface an assay chamber is formed. Themethod may further include contacting the array surface with thesolution to be tested, disassembling the chamber by removing the cover,processing the array surface, and interrogating the array surface using,e.g. an array reader. In alternate embodiments no disassembly isrequired, because the assay chamber is adapted to allow interrogation ofthe array surface without disassembly, e.g the cover may have atransparent area allowing light from the array reader to reach the arraysurface. In some embodiments, other configurations of assay chamber maybe used, e.g. the form-in-place gasket may be present on the substratesurface and mated against a complementary surface on the cover, or thearray surface may form a portion of a separate array substrate that isheld in place between the substrate and the cover.

[0109] The form-in-place gaskets of the current invention may be quitethin because the form-in-place gaskets do not have to be handled orpositioned in order to get the gasket properly positioned on theintended surface (because the gasket is formed on the surface). Thisminimizes problems of alignment, damage, and contamination that arose inprevious methods of applying pre-formed gaskets to surfaces. Earliermethods that use pre-formed gaskets require handling and positioning ofgaskets on the site where a fluid tight seal is desired. Problems withthe earlier methods arose when a very thin gasket was desired handlingand positioning very thin, pliable gaskets is difficult because thethinness makes the gasket delicate and easily damaged. The methodprovided herein is thus an advantageous solution to the noted problems.Where very small volumes of solution are desired in a biochemical assay,the thin, form-in-place gaskets described herein are advantageous forproviding biochemical assay chambers that are thin and as a consequencerequire only very small volumes of solution. While allowing a smallsample volume to be used for the biochemical assay, the form-in-placegasket keeps the substrate surface from coming into direct contact withthe surface of the cover. This can be beneficial where the analysiscomponent is located on the substrate surface and can be damaged byinadvertent contact with the cover.

[0110] The gasket material is typically deposited on a substrate andthen is cured to form a fluid tight seal between the gasket material andthe substrate surface. Prior methods of forming fluid tight seals usingpreformed gaskets typically require relatively thick gaskets and resultin a need to make a fluid tight seal between the cured gasket and thesubstrate and also between the cured gasket and the cover. In contrast,the present method results in a fluid tight seal between the gasketmaterial and the gasket surface as the gasket material is curing. Thisleaves only one fluid tight seal, between the cured form-in-place gasketand the mating surface on the cover, to be made upon placing the coveron the gasket. The cross section, or profile, of the form-in-placegasket may be dome-shaped, or rounded. A dome-shaped profile providesfor point contact with the mating surface of the cover, resulting inlower compressing forces needed to form a fluid tight seal.

[0111] While the foregoing embodiments of the invention have been setforth in considerable detail for the purpose of making a completedisclosure of the invention, it will be apparent to those of skill inthe art that numerous changes may be made in such details withoutdeparting from the spirit and the principles of the invention.Accordingly, the invention should be limited only by the followingclaims.

[0112] All patents, patent applications, and publications mentionedherein are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising a plurality of assaychambers, the apparatus comprising, in order, a substrate, aform-in-place gasket, and a cover, wherein the form-in-place gasket, thesubstrate, and the cover together substantially define a plurality ofassay chambers.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the assay chambersare spaced at uniform intervals.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2; whereinthe uniform interval is selected from the group consisting of about 4.5mm, about 9 mm, and about 2.25 mm.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3, whereinthe assay chambers are adapted to being placed in fluid communicationwith an external fluid dispensing system that handles multiple fluids inparallel.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the form-in-place gasket,the substrate, and the cover together further define a plurality ofinlets and outlets, each assay chamber in fluid communication with aninlet and an outlet.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the inlets areadapted to being fluidically coupled to an external fluid dispensingsystem that handles multiple fluids in parallel.
 7. The apparatus ofclaim 6, wherein the inlets are spaced at uniform intervals.
 8. Theapparatus of claim 2; wherein the uniform interval is selected from thegroup consisting of about 4.5 mm, about 9 mm, and about 2.25 mm.
 9. Theapparatus of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of assaycomponents, each analysis component being in operable association withone or more of the assay chambers.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9, whereinthe analysis components are arrays, and wherein each assay chamber is inoperable association with one or more of the arrays.
 11. The apparatusof claim 1, wherein the form-in-place gasket is between about 10micrometers and about 250 micrometers thick.
 12. The apparatus of claim1, wherein the form-in-place gasket is between about 250 micrometers andabout 1.5 millimeters thick.
 13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein theform-in-place gasket is between about 100 micrometers and about 3millimeters wide.
 14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a fluid tightseal formed by the form-in-place gasket, the substrate, and the covermay be broken and re-formed by removing and replacing the cover.